This was a great small-town mystery! It was really entertaining and fast paced and kept me on my toes with its secrets and plot twists. While the twist at the end wasn't a complete shock to me, it made for a great ending that I really enjoyed. I do agree with some other reviews that as much as it was a mystery, it wasn't particularly creepy or scary, it was more sad than anything.

This book was written in multiple POV's, but what bugged me about that was that the perspectives changed and weren't consistent. But overall, this book kept me turning the pages well after bedtime and wanting more from its protagonist, Maggie. I will definitely be checking out the second book in the series.

I highly recommend checking out trigger/content warnings as this book included some particularly sensitive content.

Thank you to NetGalley, Shannon Hollinger, and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book pulls you in from the beginning. There are so many secrets that a written in to the story so great that you have no idea what is the truth and what is a lie. I was shocked by the ending. I had a completely different theory going in my head as I was listening to the narrator read the last chapter of the book. All the characters that are introduced throughout the story are relevant. They all play their part in the story. This is not the type of story where there are side characters that are irrelevant or introduced to just fill space. They all tie into the story that is being told. Steve's character was interesting to me and I cannot wait to find out more about that back story. Maggie's character is dense and has so many layers that gradually come off throughout the book.
If you like a good small town mystery with multiple point of views, I highly suggest adding this to the to be read pile.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook and give my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed the development of Heather! I was confused and truthfully a little annoyed with her at the beginning of the book. I grew to like her and then I really liked her twist at the end. I also liked Steve’s character and want to know more about him in the future books. I did not like Maggie. She was all over the place - either dropping random facts and statistics, or being clueless about what was going on around her.

This book ended in a 2.5 star read for me. I didn’t dislike it, but I also didn’t enjoy it. The writing was very odd in that it gave the most bizarre descriptions and had awkward metaphors throughout the entire story. The writing really took away from the story because I actually enjoyed the plot line and would be interested in following the story if the writing was less awkward.

Setting the Scene: As a decorated former homicide detective fleeing her past, Coyote Cove was a much needed haven to Chief of Police Maggie Riley. At least it was until she finds the bloody body of a man in the forest near her home. As she struggles to preserve the scene before the arrival of a fast approaching storm, she is startled by the appearance of a local teenager, Heather, emerging from the woods in obvious distress. As Chief Riley investigates, she uncovers suspects faster than she can clear them, and then she makes another gruesome discovery in the forest that leads back to Heather. Big city detectives descend and condescend, but it's Maggie's town, and she will find out what is happening.

What I Thought: The synopsis I read before selecting this book compared it to books by Melinda Leigh, and they were not wrong. This is a thriller that includes very dark themes, including infant death, but I found Maggie interesting enough to push through the macabre to find out more about her. She is kind hearted, a woman of integrity and strong emotion. She respects the law, and will neither allow it to be used as a weapon nor superseded by personal feelings. I like her. I like her neighbor, Steve. They both have secrets. They work well together, and there is a promising future there. The twists and turns provide sufficient surprises along the way, and I thought I had it solved a couple of times only to find there was more. I will read the next book in the series when it is released, but only when I am in the right fame of mind. I also look forward to learning more about those secrets..

The narrator did an excellent job.

Great thrilling and fast read! Thanks Netgalley for the audiobook! I listened to this in only two days! It was addictive right from the very beginning and I just couldn’t put it down I had to know what happened! A must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was wonderful! I loved how there were so many different view points throughout the book that provided different hidden secrets. The multiple perspectives really added dimension and depth to the book. Heather was one crazy character and for most of the book I really felt for her and hers were my favorite chapters. I look forward to more books in this series because the characters and all their secrets are so intriguing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A well-written captivating mystery about an emotionally wounded but mentally strong female Sheriff with a deep dark secret in her past. She came to this small town hoping to only encounter trivial (boring and routine) crimes, for the most part, that is what she encounters, however more challenging mysteries are to be had in this low-key environment.

I was sad the girl who lied, lied, but I wasn't terribly surprised...

A solid police procedure with good character development.

Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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The Girl Who Lied is the first of three in the Chief Maggie Riley series. The first two will be released on August 2nd and the third will be released on September 1st on Kindle Unlimited. The Girl Who Lied was a great first installment that captured my attention immediately and kept me hooked until the very end.
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The Girl Who Lied is a multiple point of view story set in a small town in Maine where literally everyone has a secret. Right from the start there is a murder that needs to be solved. I found it super easy to navigate through the characters and easily remember who was who. The chapters are short and the story flows really well, incorporating the revelation of each characters secret and how it is ultimately tied to the murder victim. There wasn’t too much fluff thrown in which makes me happy as anything to report.
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Some of the secrets were disturbing, shocking and twisty that just makes this one hard to put down. The reveal of each secret was perfectly placed to keep you hooked throughout! That last ending twist was great, though I definitely had my suspicions that this would be the final twist. I loved that ending. And I’m excited to see where this series leads us.
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I listened to this one via audiobook. It was easy to follow each of the characters but the narrator Amelia Sciandra was not my favorite. Unfortunately I found her male voices to be very over the top and I don’t think she was the right fit for so many characters. I feel like the narrator has to be phenomenal when playing the roles of everyone in a multiple point of view story. I wish this one was a full cast! Overall still enjoyed the story though.
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Overall, great police procedural thriller. Tons of secrets and deceit and shocking twists and revelations. I very much enjoyed this one. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio and Shannon Hollinger for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
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TRIGGER WARNING: Death/abuse of multiple infants

3.75⭐️

<i> The woods are hiding more than Chief Maggie Riley could ever imagine. Including her own worst nightmares…

There’s a blood moon rising over the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove. Chief Maggie Riley is driving home ahead of a storm when she comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from stab wounds into the damp forest floor. And Heather, a local teenage girl, standing terrified, a silent scream on her lips, beside him.

Maggie, a redheaded decorated former homicide detective and more than over-qualified for a two-horse-town police chief, has been hiding from her past for three years. The quiet of Coyote Cove was everything she needed after… what happened. But with this murder, the life she left behind has found her. The townspeople believe Heather—already an outcast, and an easy suspect—is the killer, but Maggie isn’t convinced. To uncover the truth, Maggie must use the skills, and contacts, of her former world, however painful that will be.

As Maggie digs into the victim’s background, she is horrified to unearth another body, this time an infamous local, as callously killed as the first. But Heather’s in custody; there’s no way she could be the culprit, and Maggie’s investigation turns to the townspeople. Who has a secret so dangerous they’d kill twice to keep it hidden?

Then Heather goes missing. The race to identify the murderer is now a race to save Heather. As the search turns to the woods, the hunt is on for the killer so skilled, so twisted, no one knows how many bodies it will take before they’re found. And whether one of those will be Heather’s… </i>

This is the first book in a new detective series starring Maggie, who’s gone from big-deal big-city detective to small town cop. She has to solve a murder, in a case that leads both her and the reader to a number of unsavory characters, and just enough twists and turns to keep you interested and guessing. It was a nice quick read.

Amelia Sciandra did a decent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Shannon Hollinger, Bookouture Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was an intense mystery thriller with lots of twists and turns! And the final one was the most shocking of all!

I listened to the story in an afternoon, as it was hard to put down and kept my interest. It's definitely a fine start to a new series and I look forward to future installments. (I think...)

Thank you to Shannon Hollinger, Bookouture Audio, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Great story line with an acceptable amount of character development. Enjoyed the story being told from the individual characters. Twists and turns kept me listening. I enjoyed this as an audiobook but would have possibly enjoyed it more if I were reading it. It seemed to drag on at times and some of the voices did not match the characters. Look forward to reading/listening to more from this talented author!

Secrets, lies, and deception in a small town.

A police procedural and mystery that had me intrigued from the very beginning. While I did figure out early on one part, I still enjoyed this book very much. So many twist and turns that we’re great! I thought the narrator, Amelia Sciandra was okay. I ended up listening at a 2.0x rate. I had to pay close attention on the female voices but overall I enjoyed it after I increased the speed.
I really like the MC, Maggie and I'm very eager to see what happens in this small town next.

The ending of this boom made my jaw drop. Once I am able to, I will for sure be physically reading this book!

This was my first audio book and I personally had a hard time following but I really did enjoy the book

3.5⭐️

The Girl Who Lied is book#1 in a new series introducing Chief Maggie Riley. It’s atmospheric and is a good introduction to police Chief Maggie Riley and Coyote Cove, Maine.

As a storm rolls in to small town Coyote Cove, a grisly murder is discovered in the woods. Found scared and wandering close to the crime scene is a local teenager, Heather. Is she a victim? Is she the perpetrator? And this murder is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s clear that Coyote Cove is a place where everybody has secrets. It’s a place where a number of its inhabitants have come to escape their past, including police Chief Maggie Riley…

Maggie is clearly a complex and complicated individual and as the story develops more about Maggie’s past and how she’s ended up in Coyote Cove start to be revealed. Told through several characters POV, that has us navigating twists and turns and propels the story forward. It’s definitely piqued my interest… There’s so much more to Maggie that hasn’t been revealed & I can’t wait to see where this series goes…

3.5 Stars
Good but not mind-blowing, compared to her other novels.

I have been loving this author's other novels (Best Friends Forever and The Slumber Party). Her novels are captivating and usually filled with unexpected/shocking twists. However, this time the story was too fast-paced. There wasn't enough detail/explanations to the storyline or depth to the characters. Not to mention, the ending was a tad predictable. Don't get me wrong. The story was still good. It just wasn't on the same level as her other novels.

If you're looking for a quick and easy mystery/thriller, this novel is for you.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Shannon Hollinger, and Bookouture Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This was a great book and I am so excited that it's a series and I have the ARCS to the other 2 books! I can't wait to read them! I was hooked into this book right from the jump and couldn't put it down! I am totally here for Maggie & Steve's relationship and can't wait to see how they are able to break down each other's walls!

#TheGirlWhoLied
#NetGalley

What a gripping and hard to put down first book in a new series by Shannon Hollinger! This is how you do it! I was drawn into the story from the very beginning and didn't want to put this down until the very last page! I enjoyed the POV's, the mystery, the use of secrets, and deception in this book.

Chief Maggie Riley is the Chief of Police in a small town, Coyote Cove, Maine. Maggie moeved to take the job 4 years ago from Florida. She left under a cloud after interfering in a crime of a family member. Steve Winters is her boyfriend. Both Maggie and Steve have secrets that they don't talk about. On one night Maggie discovers a body on a logging road. Then she meets Heather McGillis, and they form a bond over several days. Maggie wants to know why Heather is out in the middle of the woods at night. So begins the mystery behind the body and Heather. This story is told through different people. It is well written and great descriptions of the location and people.

A thrilling and sometimes heartbreaking tale. The story is easy to read, twisty and full of intrigue to find out the secrets that everyone is keeping. I really enjoyed the characters especially Maggie. This book sets up for a great start to a new series, one that I will definitely want to continue reading. I have no idea who I can trust in this series or how dark their secrets go.

Interesting, fast paced story told from many points of view, which made it a little confusing at times. I enjoyed getting to know Maggie and Steve as well as the setting to the book. I’m not sure how I really felt about it otherwise. There was just so much going on and it felt all over the place. The twist was intriguing but wasn’t really unexpected. I’ll try the second in the series to see if any of the issues work themselves out.

Coyote Cove is a small town, it's typically quiet for Chief Maggie Riley. That would all change when on her way home she comes across a body. Teenager Heather was at the site of the murder but things aren't as simple as they seem. Chief Maggie Riley has two mysteries she's trying to solve but are they connected?

As the bodies begin to pile up, Maggie is in a rush to solve who is bringing on this nightmare in her small town. It seems everyone in this town has a past, including Maggie herself.

I found this book capturing my attention but not completely riveting which lead me to rate it at a 3.75. It seemed like your typical cliche small-town crime story. I think what kept me intrigued was the background framework of the characters.

It showcased some old-school male detective vibes and the ever-so solid female detective lead. Read from the points of many characters you can’t help but put yourself in Chief Maggie Riley's shoes. I look forward to following this series as there is still much to unpack.

If you are looking for a small-time crime story with many twists in all directions, this book is for you. It is a good start to following the series of Chief Maggie Riley's career.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

This audiobook was not terrible but not my favorite that I’ve listened to. The story was decent but didn’t really have anything going on that kept me drawn to the story. The ending had a couple of twists that I hadn’t fully guessed, but overall it wasn’t overly suspenseful.